In the field of disposable diapers, preventing leakage of body waste is one important problem, while improvement in a wearer's comfort of the disposable diaper is another important problem. The comfortableness of the disposable diaper can be improved by narrowing the width of an area (crotch portion) where the diaper is applied to the crotch of a wearer while wearing, but if the width of the crotch portion is narrowed, the width of the absorbent article at the crotch portion is also narrowed. Since the absorption of the diaper is determined by the volume of the absorbent article, in a diaper in which the width of the absorbent article at the crotch portion is not sufficient, the absorption is insufficient, and leakage is likely to occur.
For example, in Japanese Patent Publication No. 5-33630, there is described a disposable diaper, in which an absorbent article is formed of a central absorbing portion having a width suitable for the crotch of a wearer, and outside absorbing portions provided outside thereof in the width direction, thereby the adhesion of the absorbent article to the crotch and the inner parts of the thighs is improved, while maintaining high absorption of the absorbent article, thereby improving the prevention of leakage. At the time of wearing this disposable diaper, the outside absorbing portions abut against the inner parts of the thighs of the wearer.
In this disposable diaper, however, since it is difficult to make the outside absorbing portions adhere to the inner parts of the thighs of the wearer sufficiently, leakage may occur via a gap formed between the outside absorbing portion and the inner part of the thigh.
In Japanese Patent No. 3242532, there is described a disposable diaper in which a first elastic member which can extend from the front of the thigh of one lower limb of the wearer through the crotch to the front of the thigh of the other lower limb, and a second elastic member which can extend from the back of the thigh of one lower limb of the wearer through the crotch to the back of the thigh of the other lower limb are arranged so that the first elastic member and the second elastic member cross each other in the crotch portion, and a third elastic member crossing the first elastic member and the second elastic member is arranged outside of the absorbent article in the crotch width direction, thereby enhancing the adhesion of the absorbent article around the legs of the wearer.
At the time of wearing this disposable diaper, the absorbent article is substantially divided into two kinds of portions, that is, a central absorbing portion applied to the crotch of the wearer and the outside absorbing portions applied to the inner parts of the thighs, by the first elastic member and the second elastic member.
In Japanese Patent Publication No. 11-1010007, there is described a disposable diaper (“pull-on” type paper diaper) in which the width of the outer layer sheet defining the external shape of the diaper is less than the width of the absorbent article at least in the crotch region, and an elastically flexible portion for fastening the right and left leg portions is provided from the front section to the back section respectively in the right and left leg portions.
In the disposable diapers described in the above patent publication, however, when the body waste absorbed by the outside absorbing portions moves towards the central absorbing portion, the first elastic member and the second elastic member may be obstructive and stagnate movement, and hence, there is still room for improvement both in its absorbing performance and amount absorbed. Similarly, in the disposable diaper (“pull-on” type paper diaper) disclosed in the above Patent Publication, since the elastically flexible portion is provided from the front section to the back section respectively in the right and left leg portions, the elastically flexible portion may become obstructive and stagnate the movement of the body waste, and hence, there is still room for improvement both in its absorbing performance and amount absorbed.